The World is What You MAKE of it

What is Design and Why Does it Matter?

When the Apple iPod (first generation) was released in October of 2001 it was not the first mp3 player to reach the market. In many ways it did something similar to what other products had been doing for years. But what made it significant? What difference did it make in the heap of existing competition?

“Time and again we see successful products that were not necessarily the first to market but were the first to appeal to us emotionally and functionally” Tim Brown CEO of IDEO

What is Design?

When considering what defines design it is important to take into consideration what that heavy word entails. The word design has become much of a buzz word in our popular culture to classify fashion and style. Though design might entail those terms today it has become much more than simply stylization. Great design is not merely aesthetics, it is a process in which aesthetics falls as one of many components. Historically, design was often applied to the end of the process of an idea or product as a way of applying touches of style. Designers were treated as forth quarter players who entered the game at the last stages of the process to add those final last touches. However, great or even good design is not last minute add ons but a process in which innovation takes place at every stage of the game.

But why does this matter?

Unknowingly design effects many of our conscious and unconscious behaviors and choices. The laundry detergent you use and the car you drive are choices that are influenced by design. It is hard to imagine that all the things around us were designed. But our daily lives are effected by someone somewhere who designed the products and services all around us.

After taking that into consideration, it is important think about the way in which we allow design to affect us. Good design can effect us emotionally and functionally. The Apple iPod was not the first music player of its time but it was, however, the first one that bridged that emotional and functional relationship to the user. Good design allows our lives to become easier. It gets the point across, it is functional. It is not just pretty, but thoughtful and solves a promblem.

References: http://www.mech.hku.hk/bse/interdisciplinary/what_is_design.pdfhttp://www.fredonia.edu/pr/web/pdf/HBR-Timbrown.pdf